How many dust mites do you think habituating in your room and particularly on your bed?
Don’t freak! There are millions and billions of dust mites in your room, on bed and under carpets.
Dr. Lisa Ackerley says dust mites love warm and moist environments. The female mated dust mite lives up to 70 days and lay nearly 100 eggs in her lifetime. They feed on your dead skin cells and breed prolifically; an average room will contain a million dust mites.
Recently, Ohio State University Acarology Lab released a creepy video showing thousands of dust mites squirming on bed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3X-Tn2ihOE
Though it looks creepy, they’re actually not harmful. But, the waste they produce may trigger allergic reaction in sensitive people.
Allergic reaction triggered by dust mites includes asthma, wheezing, coughing, runny nose and red itchy eyes. Let me clear you that dust mites are not the only irritant that causes dust allergy; other irritants include cockroaches, mold, pollen and pet hair. (source)
Now coming to dust mites, even after knowing that microscopic mites invaded your home without your permission you can stop them. Only way to combat is to follow prevent measures listed below and remember that even these prevention methods can’t completely wipe them out. But, it’s better than nothing.
10 Steps to Get Rid of Dust Mites in Your Room
#1 Cover Your Bed and Mattress with anti-allergic sheets
Bed and mattresses are warm and provide favorable condition for dust mites to grow and multiply. Even the most cleaned mattress is not completely free from these creepy microscopic mites.
Dust mites can’t survive in hot environments. So, one of the easiest ways is to put your bed and mattress under sunlight for a day. Alternatively, you can use hypoallergenic mattress that is designed to prevent dust mites.
#2 Allow some airing to bed
Good news for those who don’t like to make the bedding in the morning. As mentioned these mites love moist environment, when you make your bed as soon as you get up the dust mites get wrapped in bed and habitat there. Instead, if you allow some airing it reduces moisture and humidity.
#3 Replace old pillows
You’ll be surprised to know that about 10 percent of your old pillow’s weight is from dead dust mites. Best thing is throw them and bring new pillows. Else, at least put them under sunlight to reduce moisture.
#4 Remove carpets and replace them with hard flooring
Carpets add beauty to your room, but they also provide an environment for dust mites to breed. Dead cells of your skin and pets dropped on carpets are feed by these mites.
If you don’t want to replace them, use vacuum cleaner to remove dust. You can also try carpets spray and powder on carpets to kill dust mites. (source)
#5 Keep your pets away from bed room
Dust mites feed on pet dander. You must keep your pets out of your bed and living room if possible to safe your family from allergic reaction.
#6 Steam cleaner
Wash your bed, mattress and pillow covers in steam. Dust mites can’t survive in high temperature and gets killed. After steam cleaning, dry them under sun so that remaining dust mites that survived from steam process gets removed.
#7 Use humidifier in your room
Make the environment for dust mites hard to survive by increasing to a healthy environment for human i.e. 21°C. House dust mites can’t withstand this temperature.
Regularly check humidity in your room to make sure it is not 70%. Reduce it using humidifier.
All the above listed methods can’t help you to get rid of dust mites from room completely. One of the best ways is to practice hygienic lifestyle.
#8 Do not make the bed in morning
The first thing you need to do after waking up in the morning is to leave the bed the way it is, do not make the bed in morning itself. Our body leaves moisture which needs to get dried, make sure you give enough airing to the pillow and duvet.
When you give enough airing to the bed and bedding the moisture gets dried and does not attract the dust mites easily.
#9 Wash the toys
If you have kids then you will always be worried about the health of your kids. Dust mites can give allergic reaction and make them ill. Stuffed toys and soft toys are the best places for the bites to live. Collect all such toys and wash them in washing machine and make them completely dry to avoid them from getting attracted to mites again.
#10 Wash the curtains and drapes
Curtains and drapes are again the favorite place of dust mites. Wash them regularly to avoid them from being attracted by mites.